Practical Strategies for Paraprofessionals
Who Work with English Language Learners

(Grades K-12)

Specifically Designed for Paraprofessionals who work with English
Language Learners (ELL), ELL Teachers, Title I Staff, and Administrators
Serving Grades K-12

Ready-to-use ideas for paraprofessionals that will support the specific needs of ELL students and help strengthen their academic achievement

Highly practical strategies and tools for increasing the effectiveness of paraprofessionals working with ELL students

Classroom-tested, research-based comprehension strategies specifically designed for English Language Learners

Demonstrations, examples, activities, and an extensive resource handbook packed with specific strategies and resources to support educators working with students whose native language is not English

Practical Strategies

Find the best ways for you as a paraprofessional to help your ELL students develop the necessary vocabulary, comprehension, fluency, spelling, and writing skills that will help them become successful in speaking, reading and writing English.This seminar will emphasize practical strategies and techniques that paraprofessionals, working with ELL students, can use immediately with a wide variety of age and developmental levels.Join Cheryl Sweeney for this
idea-packed seminar.

This new seminar is designed to help paraprofessionals and other educators working with ELL students in both push-in and pull-out programs strengthen their reading comprehension, vocabulary development, reading fluency, spelling, and writing skills. Cheryl is an internationally recognized seminar presenter, author, award-winning educator, and outstanding consultant to teachers. She began her educational career as a paraprofessional and understands just how important clear communication, explicit teaching objectives and guided practice is for helping both educators and students.

Throughout the day, Cheryl will share with you dozens of practical research-based ideas for working with English Language Learners. You will also experience dozens of classroom-proven activities to help you better support the wide range of ELL students in your classrooms. To enhance the usefulness of this seminar, you will leave with an idea-packed resource handbook filled with
ready-to-implement strategies, processes, skill development techniques, and materials that will provide you with years of support.

Ten Key Benefits of Attending

Understand Implications of the Most Current Scientific Research as it Applies to Instruction for English Language Learners
Receive a wide variety of practical research-based strategies that will help paraprofessionals when working with students whose native language is not English

Learn the Essential Practices Which are Necessary for Paraprofessionals Working with ELL Students
Paraprofessionals will come away knowing the 7 essential practices that are crucial for ELL students and their success in school

Learn Skill Development Techniques Based on Best Practices
Learn research-based and classroom-tested strategies and processes to empower your ELL students with the essential tools to make meaning out of their reading and writing … Ideas you can use as a paraprofessional to support classroom instruction

Expand Your Collection of Instructional Strategies for Processing Narrative and Informational Text
Paraprofessionals need a “bag of tricks” to help their ELL students acquire essential content literacy and strategic reading skills … Learn how to help your ELL students make connections between text and their own personal experiences

Teach New Vocabulary and Strengthen Word Study Skills
Utilize powerful strategies that accelerate vocabulary acquisition … Incorporate the most current research to strengthen the vocabulary development of the English Language Learners you are assigned to work with

Learn Strategies that Support Small Group and Individualized Instruction
Paraprofessionals are often working with individuals and small groups away from the teacher … Explore structures and strategies designed to motivate even the most reluctant students

Learn How to Scaffold Instruction to Ensure Student Success
Gradual Release of Responsibility will be modeled and paraprofessionals will learn how to design lessons that will ensure success for their small groups and individualized instruction with ELL students

Differentiate Instruction to Maximize Student Learning
We will explore different modalities and essential strategies, which will help ELL students gain understanding from read-alouds, shared reading and guided reading experiences … Specific ways paraprofessionals can support student understanding

Learn Effective Ways to Stay Organized
Strategies will be modeled which will help paraprofessionals in their daily interactions with students … Tips on organization and strategy instruction will be emphasized

Receive an Extensive Instructional Resource Handbook
Receive an extensive resource handbook specifically designed to support paraprofessionals that work with ELL students in grades K-12

Outstanding Strategies You Can Use Immediately

How to help your ELL students develop a rich repertoire of
research-based comprehension, fluency, vocabulary development strategies, and skill development techniques

Dozens of highly effective literacy strategies for accelerating the academic success of your English Language Learners

How to identify key words and concepts in content area materials as a tool for helping your ELL students more effectively comprehend text

How to organize and scaffold instruction which will help paraprofessionals in daily interactions with students

Proven strategies to help your ELL students work more successfully with narrative and informational text materials

Ready-to-use instructional support strategies that will save you time and are easy to implement

Proven scientific research-based strategies that are essential for any lesson when working with ELL students

Innovative methods for teaching notetaking and study skills to improve comprehension and vocabulary with ELL students

Pre-, during and post-reading ideas that empower your ELL students to read strategically with deeper comprehension

How to work smarter not harder, while implementing standards-based instruction with ELL students

A Message From Your Seminar Leader

Dear Colleague:

This seminar is designed to help paraprofessionals effectively work with students who are English Language Learners (of course there will be loads of ideas to use with native speakers as well)! Many schools employ paraprofessionals and we know what an essential role these individuals play in supporting classroom instruction. We, as educators, need to make the most of the talents these dedicated educators bring to our classrooms. In this seminar we will examine strategies to use with ELL students, ways to stay organized and how to develop lessons keeping in mind essential strategies that ELL students need.

During my teaching career I have been both a paraprofessional and a classroom teacher, so I know first hand how important training, good communication and clear expectations are. I also know how important it is for paraprofessionals to feel comfortable working with individuals as well as small groups, so we will examine techniques and strategies for both situations. My goal is for each one of you to leave with new knowledge, teaching strategies and research-based resources, which will immediately help you when you return to your own classroom!

Current research has provided us with more knowledge than ever before about how one becomes a successful reader/writer. We must make sure that all the educators who work with students are aware of and use these powerful educational strategies with all students in our classrooms, especially our English Language Learners. Researchers remind us that many of the students experiencing difficulties with reading and writing are English Language Learners, yet the different needs of these students are not always considered, nor are their needs incorporated into explicit skill lessons when teaching.

This handbook and seminar were designed to address these questions and provide information and strategies for the paraprofessionals who work on a daily basis within a diverse classroom of learners. The resource handbook will provide you with many useful ideas, strategies and activities to help your students, all your students, become individuals who know they can be successful in school and in the world.

There are so many ways we can make a difference in our individual classrooms! Hopefully, in education as a whole as well, but first we need to educate ourselves. Next, we need to put into practice what we have learned. It is my hope that this resource handbook will provide you with a plentiful amount of practical strategies and the seminar focus will be on how we can use these ideas in the real world of teaching.

I look forward to sharing many wonderful strategies and activities with you. You’ll leave the seminar energized, excited and ready to embrace the diversity that exists in our classroom communities. Armed with practical strategies to help students strengthen their reading and writing abilities.

Sincerely,
Cheryl Sweeney

P.S. I look forward to meeting you and sharing these powerful strategies that will help your ELL students find greater academic success.

Who Should Attend

Paraprofessionals who work with English
Language Learners (ELL), ELL Teachers, Title I Staff, and Administrators
Serving Grades K-12

Special Benefits of Attending

Extensive Resource Handbook
You will receive an extensive resource handbook specifically designed for this seminar. Included in the handbook are:

practical, research-based findings that focus on comprehension strategies for ELL students

tips and techniques for meeting the needs of paraprofessionals working with ELL students

dozens of useful strategies that will help support all your ELL students

Meet and Share
This seminar provides participants a great opportunity to meet and share ideas with other educators interested in strengthening their instructional program.

Consultation Available
Cheryl Sweeney will be available at the seminar for consultation regarding your questions and the unique needs of your program.

On-Site Training Guarantee

BER is not a booking agency that just finds a presenter who presents on the topic you requested. Rather, we only recommend highly experienced BER presenters who have consistently received outstanding evaluations from educators attending their trainings.

Consequently, we provide a strong program guarantee.

We guarantee you’ll be fully satisfied or you’ll owe us nothing after your on-site training event.